Health Topic

Hiccups

What exactly is a hiccup and how do you stop hiccupping once you start? Find out what triggers hiccups and when you should contact your doctor.

Reviewed Reviewed by a registered pharmacistGeneral information

Also called: Hiccough

Important: This page is general information, not medical advice. It does not recommend or prescribe any treatment. Always consult your doctor or pharmacist before starting, stopping or changing any medicine.

About Hiccups

Have you ever wondered what is happening when you hiccup? There are two parts to a hiccup. The first is an involuntary movement of your diaphragm. The diaphragm is a muscle at the base of your lungs. It is the main muscle used for breathing. The second part of a hiccup is a quick closing of your vocal cords. This is what causes the "hic" sound you make.

Hiccups can start and stop for no obvious reason. But they often happen when something irritates your diaphragm, such as:

  • Eating too quickly
  • Eating too much
  • Eating hot or spicy foods
  • Drinking alcohol
  • Drinking carbonated drinks
  • Diseases that irritate the nerves that control the diaphragm
  • Feeling nervous or excited
  • A bloated stomach
  • Certain medicines
  • Abdominal surgery
  • Metabolic disorders
  • Central nervous system disorders

Hiccups usually go away on their own after a few minutes. You have probably heard different suggestions about how to cure hiccups. There is no proof that they work, but they are not harmful, so you could try them. They include:

  • Breathing into a paper bag
  • Drinking or sipping a glass of cold water
  • Holding your breath
  • Gargling with ice water

Some people have chronic hiccups. This means that the hiccups last more than a few days or keep coming back. Chronic hiccups can interfere with your sleep, eating, drinking, and talking. If you have chronic hiccups, contact your health care provider. If you have a condition that is causing the hiccups, treating that condition may help. Otherwise, treatment options include medicines, surgery, and other procedures.

It sits within Digestive System.

When to speak to someone. Reading about a topic cannot tell you whether it applies to you. Speak to a doctor or pharmacist if symptoms are severe, sudden, getting worse, or simply not going away — and seek emergency care immediately for chest pain, breathing difficulty, sudden weakness or confusion, or a serious allergic reaction.

Research on Hiccups

9 studies areregistered for this condition on ClinicalTrials.gov, the U.S. National Library of Medicine's public registry. A selection is below — the links go straight to the registry entry, not to a summary of ours.

What a registered study does and does not mean. Registration means a study exists and has been declared publicly. It says nothing about whether the treatment being tested works, is safe, or is available to you. Many studies find no benefit — that is what research is for. Never seek out an experimental treatment on the strength of a registry entry alone.

Research currently under way

Research already completed

Study data from ClinicalTrials.gov, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. Retrieved 2026-07-30. Registry entries are supplied by study sponsors and investigators; ClinicalTrials.gov does not verify their scientific validity. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH.

Where to read more

Rather than paraphrase, we point you to the primary sources. Every link below is to a government health agency, a national institute or a recognised medical body — grouped by what you are trying to find out.

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Clinical Trials

Medical subject headings

Clinicians and researchers index this subject under Hiccup. These are the terms to use when searching medical literature.

This page is built from the MedlinePlus health topic record for Hiccups, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM), National Institutes of Health. Information is from MedlinePlus.gov. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and is not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH. Retrieved 30 July 2026.